U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,208--Otto relates to a portable drill rig wherein a dual section of drill pipe, within a well casing segment. Such dual sections are pivoted perpendicularly to their axes from a stored horizontal position to a vertical "ready" or "pick", so that they are in position for transfer into alignment with a well string during drilling of a well bore. All other casing and drill pipe segments are stored horizontally on the bed of a transport truck or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,322--Wolters is directed to use of a drilling head, or power swivel, movable laterally from a position directly in line with the well bore to engage and transfer one of a few sections of pipe suspended vertically. Such pipe sections are carried by a rotatable magazine or a row of hangers, similar to a conventional "finger board" of a drilling derrick. The magazine or hanger extends along the outside of a drill mast. The drilling head or swivel is then supported from a crown pulley running on rollers along rails of a guide mast.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,918--Leven discloses a rotary rack for storing pipe or rods similar to that of the Wolters patent, however, the external magazine for storing rods or pipes vertically is movable both vertically and radially relative to the mast. Such movement aligns a slot in the rack with the well head, after it is moved laterally from alignment with a well head. Such movement indexes one of several rod sections into registry with the drill head, for subsequent movement into alignment with the well string. The hoisting arrangement for the well head is likewise a pair of guide rails, or rods. The well head is apparently hoisted by power driven chains along the mast support of the hoist, but not shown, except that it is above the drill rod and well head.
U.S Pat. No. 2,972,388--Thornburg is directed to an automatic drill rig generally similar to the foregoing pipe and rod transfer systems. However, the mast is tilted from horizontal to vertical by electric and hydraulic motors driving cable drums. It includes mechanical and electrical braking systems to control drill string motion during drilling. In other regards, the drill pipe storage and racking arrangements include hangers that are suspended external to the mast for transfer of drill pipe sections from the magazine into alignment with the well bore.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,160--Schivley, et al. discloses a rotary rack or magazine type pipe storage arrangement for non-vertical or slant well drilling. The arrangement is particularly directed to transferring pipe in a rotatable magazine that is carried in a conventional derrick. When the derrick itself is tilted, the pipe sections need to be aligned with the top of the drill string. The arrangement includes track for guiding the power swivel from alignment with the well head to one of the sections of pipe in the carousel. A pivotable transfer arm guides the lower end of the pipe section from its slanted rack to the top of the pipe section in the well head.
U.S Pat. No. 3,985,189--Jahnke, et al. shows another embodiment of a drill rod racking arrangement wherein a carousel is mounted adjacent a tilt up mast carrying a drilling head within an open box frame. The arrangement is similar to the foregoing patents, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,913,754 and 3,913,757 and 3,913,373 all to Swartz et al. Each discloses another form of drill pipe magazine swingably mounted on a mast for moving into alignment with the well string. Only a few sections of pipe are vertically stored by this arrangement. Other sections of pipe may be added to the magazine while the drilling operation continues. There is no arrangement for storing the entire string of drill elements, for rapidly assemble and disassembly of the full string.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,075--Attebo discloses a variation on the conventional fingerboard for well string sections. The sections are stored in a circular arc for movement by a pivotable arm to successively engage or disengage sections of pipe within the storage arc. The storage arrangement is mounted exterior to and along side a mast supporting a conventional rotary drilling head mounted in a box slideably supported in the mast.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,135--Mitchhart et al discloses a similar magazine, or carousel, carrying a few sections of drill pipe and is particularly directed to an arm mechanism for moving sections of drill pipe from the carousel to the drill string, or vice versa.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,157,286 and 3,493,061, both to Gyongyosi, disclose similar pipe magazine or carousels for storing a few sections of drill pipe. In these patents the drill pipe is pivoted into and out of position for removal or addition of sections of pipe to run the drill string in or out of a bore hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,796--Horning, et al. discloses an arrangement similar to those described above wherein the rotatable magazine, or carousel, holds a few sections of drill rod. The drilling arrangement is similar to the prior disclosed drilling head, or power swivel, supported on rails and driven by power actuated chains for lifting and lowering the drill string and power swivel.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,868,747--Hembree and U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,439 --Council, both disclose automatic racking and unracking of drill pipe in a fingerboard arrangement. In Hembree the rack is supported by a conventional derrick. In Council the upper and lower supports for the drill pipe are affixed to a tilt up mast for use in conjunction with a drilling head. In Hembree, drilling is conducted through a conventional rotary table with the drill string supported by a conventional crown block and traveling block hoist arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,277--Fife et al is directed to a well work-over rig which includes a tilt up mast comprising a pair of hydraulic jacks bridged by a transverse crown plate. The crown plate supports three spaced apart crown pulleys and each of the two hydraulic jacks includes a pulley mounted on a stationary cylinder. This arrangement permits rigging a travelling block on cables, in which the block moves four times the motion of the hydraulic pistons. The mast is vertically stabilized in its raised position by guy lines attached to the ends of the crown plate. No arrangement for racking tubular goods is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,564--Bender disclosed another form of a hydraulically actuated well rig for running tubular members into and out of well bore. A plurality of parallel hydraulic rams are enclosed within a mast for vertically lifting a crown block, which carries a pair of oversized pulleys. Such pulleys are large enough in diameter to suspend the hoist cable over a well head adjacent the mast location. Pipe is racked in a conventional overhead "fingerboard", supported laterally by the mast. The dead end of the hoist cable is anchored to the base support for the mast. After the cable passes over one of the travelling pulleys, the active end lifts the hook twice the vertical lift of the hydraulic rams supporting the crown block.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,100 Philpot discloses another hydraulically actuated hoisting system similar to Bender. A pair of hydraulic cylinders lift a crown block supporting a pair of cables adjacent its opposite ends. One end of the cable is anchored to the base of the tilt-up mast so that movement of the crown block moves the traveling block twice the motion of the rams. This system does not disclose any arrangement for racking or transferring pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,614--Walker is directed to a hoist system for a clam-shell bucket, used in dredging. Normally, gravity opens the bucket, but such opening is assisted by a hydraulic piston and pulley engaging the activating cable between two stationary pulleys mounted on a rigid vertical mast.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,187--Sumner, illustrates an extensible hoist where load lifting, using a drum and cable arrangement, includes a cross-bar atop a support post. It includes a pair of cables mounted at opposite ends of the transverse support so that load is equalized between the lifting hook and the elevating cable drum mounted directly on the post itself. However, it is to be noted that the cabled drum and intermediated pulley on the cross bar apply off axis forces to the column itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,954--Hutchison, is illustrative of a well drilling, or work-over, rig in which pipe, tubing, or sucker rods, are stored horizontally. The elements are lifted and turned perpendicularly to their axes for alignment with a drill string in a well bore.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,006--Huchinson and Hansen, is illustrative of a fully automatic arrangement for handling well elements, both going into and coming out of a well, as to which Applicant of the present invention is a co-patentee. The tubular goods are stored and retrieved from a horizontal racking arrangement.
From the foregoing it will be seen that none of the arrangements discloses a basically columnar design providing both hoisting, or mast, function for a workover rig, and an integral carousel racking arrangement concentric with the hoist and mast, that is capable of storing a complete well string during either drilling or workover of a well bore. Further, the hydraulic lifting arrangement, as well as the racking carousel, are telescopically supported by a single column so that the entire rig is collapsible into a length, height and width which permits transport of the rig within standard permissible, space limits of public highways. A particular advantage of the single columnar structure lies in the structural rigidity of the columns with pipe and rod section racked on the carousel. Such rig- idity permits operation of the columnar structure without numerous guy lines extending substantial distances around the mast. Thus the rig is particularly suitable for operation in areas having limited areas around the well head such as on offshore platforms or other closely spaced wells, such as urban areas. Further, such columnar structure permits the entire well pulling or running of well elements to be carried out without requiring manual handling of rods or pipe. Thus, it is cooling and reheating of the well or pipes, thereby saving cost and conserving energy on each workover. Since the pipe can be handled without particularly useful in thermally stimulated wells.